Fingers crossed for clear weather on Nov. 13 and smooth traffic on the roads. I can relate since I get nervous/anxious driving in snow and ice having had several close calls. Black ice is the worst! I'm glad to hear the vet gave you a good amount of refills so it's one less thing for Gypsy and you to worry about. Best wishes on the 13th and hope all goes well.

SeanRescueMom - Thank you! Yes, the snow and ice make traveling a nightmare for me. Add to that the fact that Gypsy Hates car rides so isn't the best travel partner. She has to be crated for the ride or she will pace and whine all the way. If only there were no mountains between here and there too! I am of the mindset that I should just move to Boise or nearby so I can take her to the eye doc without traveling far!

We got a recheck appointment today due to suspected Blepharitis- an eye infection. It is at 2:30MT so we are leaving in about 45 minutes to give us time to take a break along the way. I will always hope for good news, but honestly expect nothing good to come of this recheck. Things have not been good these last few days.

Will update on this thread when we get home and settled. That will be around 5:30pm PST

Good luck and drive carefully,

Well. there is no change other than she has some kind of eye infection. She is still not producing any tears. She has an new eye drop for that which I have to give to her 3x's a day for 2 weeks. we go back in 6 months. She is also getting a weaker prescription of Tacrolimus. Right now it is .1% and it is going to go down to .05%. The drops for the infection are called Gentamicin Sulfate 0.3% The bill was less than I anticipated and included the new drops.

The vet did not do the Shirmer test because she could tell by looking through her scope that GB isn't producing tears. Her eyes are really that dry.

GB hates this trip but she did lay down in the crate quite a bit this time. She did even better coming home as the sun went down. If I could see good enough to drive at night, all of our trips would be done at that time.

I have taken her off of the Pilocarpine drops that go on her food, because she keeps getting diarrhea but they said to wait about a week and get her back on it. Personally I don't see that it is doing anything good, bad or indifferent.

In Boise my check engine l ight came on, and it stayed on until I made a fuel stop halfway home. When I restarted the car after getting gas, the light was off. So the first half of the trip home was tense- my biggest fear is breaking down on the freeway (orgetting in or causing a wreck). Once the light went off, I was able to relax a bit.

It is time for me to take some aspirin for the headache I get making this trip, and relax, as GB snoozes on the couch.

I wish the news were better but you've got something for the infection. I'm glad the road was good and that GB decided to settle down a bit. That's got to make it easier for you.
And glad the check engine light resolved. I wonder if it was due to the gas cap not being on just right? I had that happen a couple of times.

Oh Bev, I'm so sorry. I had so hoped the news would have been better. Before Anne's dog I had never heard of pups having this problem. I guess I didn't realize how lucky I've been. So glad GB has you for a Mom, I admire your dedication to her. These pups sure are precious. I'll keeping hoping for solution.

OMG you guys...'
The eye vet messed up her new script of Tacrolimus!!!

So her original prescription has been 0.1% and the vet has always said that it is stronger than she likes.

I was reading our discharge papers again today and when she changed the script, the new one is for 0.5%! 4x's stronger than the original, unless my math is wrong? When I caught the mistake I called the vets office, but of course it took all dang day for them to call back, and of course the compounding pharmacy has already made it and shipped it out! But I believe this script is supposed to be 0.05%- half the strength of the original.

Upon talking directly to the pharmacy, they instructed me to accept the package, then mail it back to them unopened (Duh!) and they will refund the payment. (But of course not my shipping cost). It is probably going to Monday when all of this gets sorted out, because if something is going to go wrong, it's bound to go wrong on Friday. When I paid for this script this morning I wondered why it was more expensive than what I have been paying, but sort of shrugged it off momentarily because I got the original script and latest refil from a different compounding pharmacy. That is actually what made me look closer at the discharge papers.

I am so glad that I a a bit detailed oriented and caught this. Even if my math IS wrong, at least I try to be GB's best advocate possible!

Wow, talk about a comedy of errors. Not that it helps any, but the vet probably thought she'd written 0.05% rather than the 0.5% she actually wrote.

I hope that eventually GB will start to produce some tears. I know Ciara produces some now, but we were still living down in CT when she was first diagnosed. It wasn't until the past 12 months that my vet here in NH checked her and said she was producing some tears, probably 6-7 years before the problem first started.

Hope you get everything straightened out as quickly as possible.

Thanks Johanna!

It looks like the incorrect script is due to arrive on Tuesday, and I am hoping the vet tech can straighten things out for us on Monday, with the vet calling in the correct script for us the same day. Meanwhile I have to continue with the antibiotic drops, the 0,1% tracrolimus and artificial tears.

The good news is, with just 4 doses of the antibiotic drops her eyes are lready not so itchy and looking better. Wouldn't it be interesting if she started producing her own tears with this particular drop? Wishful thinking, I know!

It's not wishful thinking, Bev, it would be wonderful if the four doses of antibiotic drops helped her eyes. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Gypsy and you. I hope you can rest better tonight and the vet tech can call in the correct script on Monday.

This is such a rollercoaster for you and Gypsy. You keep solving the problem-but there are still things to address.

Let's be very clear-thank heavens you read the prescription and corrected the whole thing in real time! These big strong dogs are so vulnerable and they just have us. I was feeling pretty good because Gypsy sounded like she tolerated the drive better.

Keep us posted and all the best,
MJ

Thank you Ladies!

The four doses was just what time had allowed and we continue them for 14 days. The infection is getting better, but overall her eyes are still so red and I want to cry when I see how red they are. Poor Gypsy! Given everything we have tried so far, it is no wonder she struggles trying to avoid getting the drops at all! I cannot imagine going through this as a human. The pain, discomfort and all the different drops would not be fun as I am sure it is not for her either.

I am angry right now, so please forgive me as I process what I was just told.

She had her tech call me to tell me that 0.5% IS what she wants GB to be on now. My blood boiled instantly.
She has been saying from our first visit that 0.1% is ..and I quote "Stronger than they like".

This tech has the odacity to say I must be confused and be thinking of Pilocarpine. I told NO, I am talking about the Tacrolimus. If 0,1% is stronger than she likes, why on earth would she want me to do FOUR times Stronger all of a sudden? I told the tech that I refuse to do that to GB. I requested that the vet herself call me and the tech said the vet is too busy. I told her that there is NO WAY I am putting that in her eyes. I mean, good GOD! IS she trying to force me to have GB's eyes removed from meds that are too strong? I am so angry! I need to vent but have no one to talk to that gives a shit about us. About GB. It would be different if the vet had been saying it is not strong enough at 0.1%. I need the vet to talk to me to make this make sense but she won't. I won't be going back to her.

Bev, I doubt this will help you but I looked quickly on medical publication indexes and they generally cite tacrolimus at 0.02 or 0.03%-that's 5 or about 3 times LESS than Gypsy has been on at 0.1%. That's consistent with the remark that 0.1% is "stronger than they like".

I completely understand your anger. Can you talk to your regular vet? Tacrolimus ointment is used for all kinds of auto-immune stuff. We used it for Mars for his perianal fistula for years-but that was on his RECTAL SKIN!!!!!!!!

Hey Mary Jane!

As it turns out, my eye vet called me personally today! I was shocked. Might have had something to do with my sending an email through their website and saying with this script I no longer trust this vet and can't continue seeing her

She actually admitted that she did not intend to increase the concentration of Gypsy's eye drops. (Imagine THAT!) Sorry, my sarcasm is getting in the way here.

We talked at length. She did try to say she was confused about the dosage that Gypsy was originally on, but I know that is BS. I had sent a photo of the original prescription from our local vet to her tech and today she told me that it went to her also. So she Lied to me. But I let that go, because I needed to move on to more important stuff. (That is Strike One. She gets no more)

The 0.5% Tacrolimus was delivered today, but I have talked to the pharmacy twice and all I have to do is mail it back unopened and they will refund my $85. The vet was to send in the proper Tac script today which will be for 0.02%. That's more like it!

The vet apologized for upsetting me. I explained that I will always do what is right for Gypsy, and if that means to be firm and fight and stand my ground, so be it. We also talked about Preservative Free OTC artificial tears. Gypsy is used to regular OTC (with preservatives) and fights me like crazy when I try to give her PF OTC drops. I explained that to the vet and we discussed that it is best to listen to the dog than to fight them too hard. I had already switched back to regular OTC drops because lubricating her eyes is of utmost importance.

What all of this means is Gypsy is more comfortable now! Regular Systane eye drops throughout the day, Gentamicin for her current eye infection and Tacrolimus which for now is 0.1% until the new script gets here, which will be probably Saturday, maybe Monday. It also means that I am so very relieved to get this straightened out.

Bev, you are Gypsy's advocate first and foremost. Therefore, you are 100% in her corner and if it means being firm to get your point across to the vet you did the absolute right thing.

Thank you!

I didn't get a call from the compounding pharmacy today which is unusual. Normally I get a call the very next day, but I also know it can take 24 hours for the script to get to their system. I figure I will wait until tomorrow and if I get no call, I will reach out to the vet Again! This is quickly becoming quite the circus!

Ah Bev! I wish GB would appreciate you! You deserve a 5 star rating in this argument. Good for you!

Thank you for the encouragement Middle! I never got a call from the pharmacy so put in yet another call to the vet asking it be sent in. It will be late next week that it arrives if I am lucky.

While many will disagree with me on this, I am going to try something slightly unconventional. Rather than using OTC artificial tears, I am going to try Organic MCT coconut oil. My reasoning is 1) I have heard from someone who uses it for her dog and that dog has had an improvement in tear production 2) Oil is more lubricating and preservative free than OTC artificial tears and 3) Gypsy is fighting me so much that I need to find something that relieves her pain better. The Tacrolimus is in coconut oil, so I know it is safe for her eyes. MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides and strengthens the immune system. We are nearing a point that surgery to redirect her saliva glands to her eyes, which I can't afford and would prefer to avoid anyway. If I can help her holistically, it could save her eyesight, and has the potential to save a good deal of money.